Earedh
Earedh is the westernmost country of the civilized clan's holdings in Athelorn and is mostly populated by the Egrans. Earedh consists mostly of rough highlands sparsely populated by Egranic clans living in cities above and below ground. Today, Earedh is a dual-run country with Queen Cliodhna Morrower as the main political center of power supported by her Oathkeeper Mochta Froststride. The former has main authority over most political, financial and military matters and together with The Crones, she is responsible for the longevity of the Egrans and Earedh. Oathkeeper Mochta, meanwhile, is the main authority on assuring the fullfilment of the Egranic oath of vengeance. The Birth of Earedh While Aellkouar tends to boast being the oldest standing human civilization post-Liberation, a strong claim can also be made for Earedh. The main difference between Aellkouar and Earedh is that, though the Egrans are literate, they also favor oral traditions over written records as this is viewed as almost a religious practice. Due to this, records of the beginnings of Earedh are sparse, but it seems that most of the Egranic army from the Liberation period stayed together and moved in pursuit of the Black and Red Dragon Flights to continue their quest for vengeance. As such, the Crones of Earedh tends to put forth the claim that the birth of Earedh should be estimated to origin simultaneously with the First Egranic Uprising. Supposedly, the Egrans moved en masse from the coastal and eastern areas of Athelorn into the highlands of the north-west. As they found the mountain passes mostly impassable, they started cutting into the mountains and search for other means to get into the west. Few incursions across the mountain ranges have been successful though, and most commonly they get pushed back by fierce resistance from the Dragon assisted Starspeakers. Over time, the Egrans became more and more rooted, and the initial divisions of responsibilities became entrenched. Initially, the Egrans assumed that only a few generations would be required to find and annihilate the Dragonflights of the western ranges, but it has now turned into two millennia long campaign, and more stable institutions developed. Kouran Inflluence Earedh has not been able to avoid Kouran influence during its rise to dominant status, but their impact has not been as heavy-handed as it was around the Shattered Sea and in the developing Aiedonian state. Rather, Aellkouar's influence served to formalize laws and systems of governance, so that trade with the Kourans would be facilitated. As an effect of this, the old laws of Earedh, which includes most of the core laws including elections, individual freedoms and property rights, and many Kouran scholars acted as councilors and in property development. As such, several older buildings in Earedh are from this time and are of Kouran make. Aiedonian Subjugation During the Third Aiedonian March, reigning Emperor Maerdon the Brave launched his invasion on Earedh in an attempt to pacify the Athelornian continent. The Western Phase of this war, aimed primarily at Earedh, would last for approximately five years and result in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians. The defenses of Earedh were woefully under-prepared to face the full brunt of the Aiedonian cavalry, and the first few battles resulted in a resounding Aiedonian victory with the Earedhians routed. Most of their major cities and settlements taken by the Aiedonians, the Othkeeper Taranis Greywolf maintained contact with the Crone Queen Ailis Eilis Sunsinger and they vowed to never give in. Thus, Taranis roused the populace into vengeance on the Aiedonians, but also managed to keep the populace quiet such that the Aiedonians were not aware of the stirring Earedhian army being formed. Believing their position secure in the province, the Maerdon the Brave put Crone AIlis Eilis as Ruler of the province after receiving promises of the Crones' participation in the integration of the province, and set to find the remnants of the Earedhian army. As he had only left a single legion at the capital of Cailach Dheur, this would prove unsatisfactory as the civilian population, having been drafted by Ailis Eilis and Taranis, took up arms and destroyed the legion while Maerdon pursued Taranis. As news reached Maerdon, the Emperor realized that he was about to be surrounded by 2-3 large military forces, and even if the troops in his flank and rear were green, the numbers alongside the seasoned Egrans under Taranis would outnumber them to such degree that it would hardly matter. Since this was the first conflict in which the Egrans faced the Aiedonians, they were not quite prepared for the outstanding speed with which the Aiedonian army could move, and were caught surprised when the Emperor not just evaded the pincer trap sprung, but also caught the army lead by Ailis Eilis in the rear. Both Crone Queen Ailis Eilis and her army, consisting of men and women from Cailach Dheur, were defeated and slain. Word is that Ailis Eilis was paraded naked in front of the army as it faced the second relief force and were slain by the arrows of her own countrymen. Soon, Taranis Greywolf stood alone and outmaneuvered. With no other option left him, Taranis surrendered to Maerdon, hoping the Aiedonian Emperor would be merciful. The only mercy that Maerdon the Brave dispensed to Taranis was killing him before he maimed the rest of his army, cutting of both hands of any man or woman that took up arms against their sovereign emperor. When he returned to Cailach Dheur, the city was razed to the ground and every man, woman and child either put to the sword or enslaved. Maerdon would then continue his rampage across Earedh until the province had become sufficiently pacified. It would take fifteen years until he viewed the province as sufficiently integrated that he would appoint a new Aiedonian-style government, rather than the military-run dominion it had been for this period. Under Aiedonian Dominion Under Aiedonian dominion, the province of Earedh changed greatly, but most of the institutions of the Aiedonian-style of government could slot in rather readily to the pre-existing structure of Earedh. The main differences faced were mainly that the religious duties of both the Crones and the Oathkeeper were not included in the new Ruler and Protector-system. Unbeknownst to the Aiedonians, the Earedhians maintained the process of electing and maintaining their Crones and Oathkeepers, and rebellious cells still persisted throughout the provinces. While the province boomed during this period, the Earedhians were not content with the cultural changes enacted by the Aiedonians and while the easterners maintained the militarized borders to the west, the excursions into Starspeaker territory had dwindled. Only the Oathkeepers and his elites maintained under-cover operations to the west, but all knew that without the full support of the Earedhian state, no substantial gains could made to fulfill their oath. To make matters worse, the Aiedonian-appointed Rulers were starting to enforce Aiedonian religious practices, sowing further malcontent throughout the province. The Earedhian people were getting fed up with this combination of subjugation, humiliation and degradation such that something would have to be done. Verdcastle recognized the growing issues in the province, though, and Emperor Gaewor the Last traveled to Earedh to assess the situation in person. The reigning Oathkeeper at this time was one Ndaer Bloodchest, and he saw an opportunity to take out the Emperor himself, which would sow such chaos in the Empire that the infighting could enable Earedh to oust the Aiedonians with minimal casualties. The Second Egranic Uprising Ndaer Bloodchest did as he planned, and his band of Elite Warriors assaulted the Imperial Contingent, massacring the Aiedonians and the youong Emperor Gaewor, claiming the Dragon Crown. While Ndaer knew the chaos this death would sow among the Aiedonians, he also knew that the Aiedonians would prioritize reclaiming the Dragon Crown at any cost, and so he sent a handful of guides with an Aiedonian captive to deliver the Crown into the hands of the reigning Ruler, Laendwynn of the Imperial House Verdanmoor. As Ndaer knew that Gaewor had not sired a son, gifting the Crown to an Imperial House would inevitably kick-off an Ashen War. The chaos would not be nearly as destructive as Ndaer had hoped, however, as Laendwynn had no personal ambition for the Dragon Seat, being an old man himself with only daughters to inherit him. Rather, he sent the Imperial regalia back to Verdcastle with the express interest that the council of elders vote on the heir to take the throne. The politics of the imperial, though they were both deadly and dramatic, were joyfully rather brief and the young but promising Ilnedh Truthspeaker of House Flaemmewrynn Ascended the Dragon Seat. Meanwhile, Laendwynn had managed to hold on to Mogunt Dhinas and a majority of the Eastern Parts of the Province from Ndaer's relentless attacks when Ilnedh arrived to relieve him with the full brunt of the Aiedonian and Thaerdonian legions. The ensuing fighting was brief and bloody and Ndaer and his men were brought back to Mogunt Dhinas in chains. The leading warriors were drawn and quartered, their remains displayed on the gates and walls of the city, while both hands of every warrior was removed, all in front of a beaten populace. It is said that the last words of Oathkeeper Ndaer Bloodchest was "Egrans, remember your oath!" The province of Earedh would remain pacified for 300 years, but they would maintain their religious practices and the sacrifice of Ndaer Bloodchest would be honored to the point were he was worshipped in the same extent as Ailis Eilis and Taranis in the Egranic faith. The Egrans remembered, but they also remembered what it meant to stand against Aiedon. The Third Egranic Uprising The Third Egranic Uprising took place during the Great Ashen Wars, and was one of two provinces that claimed for themselves independence as a result of the actions of Koiran the Frail of House Ashenburne's Second Dynasty. Lead by Oathkeeper Lorcan Bellower and Bronagh Snowpetal, the Egrans revolted, and not just the army, but every major city and settlement seized this opportunity to oust the Aiedonian legions not already called into the Great Ashen War, but even every Aiedonian affliated Egran were ousted or killed. The Aiedonian systems were altered back to Earedhian systems, but several of the new institutions the Aiedonians brought were kept in place, such as tax collection and education. The Earedhians jointly elected Bronagh Snowpetal as the new Crone Queen and the Crones were reinstated. While the Earedhians now would prioritize claiming vengeance to the west, they had a bone to pick with the Aiedonians as well, and they moved into Thaerdonian territory, killing and pillaging as they went, supported by Kouran funds. The Earedhian army made it all the way to Dalkeep while the Aiedonian civil war waged on before a young noble of House Ashenburne, a Braith Riedhon Aerick Ashenburne, opted to defy the orders of his sovereign Ruler in Aiedon and, in utter rebellion, inspired many Rhiedons under different Braith Rhiedon to abandon the war and ride to relieve the Thaerdonians. While many of the initial Rhiedons that joined Aerick were from the Thaerdonian legions, several other Riedhon soon saw the prudence in Aerick's actions, and a few Braith Riedhon from Aiedon and Ciludon, both provinces reliant on the grain supply of Thaerdon, soon joined the young man in his quest to save Thaerdon. The Egrans faced the Aiedonian force head on, but having learned the Aiedonian battle tactics from the previous wars fought, they were not so easily beaten by Aerick's growing numbers. Entrenched in highlands were they had prepared the ground to dull the brunt of the Aiedonian horses, it seemed impossible to force the Earedhians to comply to pitched battle. Aerick knew, however, that failure would mean a certain death as a traitor, and was therefore not willing to concede defeat. Instead, Aerick showed his personal ingenuity which would come to serve him as Emperor, and set his Arkiish craftsmen to diverting the waters running to Draer's Pond to flow towards the Earedhian camp, putting his plan into action at night. Lorcan Bellower, seeing his camp being flooded and his foodstores badly damaged, recognized that the current stalemate was not tenable and that, considering what his army had done to the farms on their way, not much food would be acquired to sustain the army on the road back decided to parley with the young Braith Riedhon. In exchange for Aerick and his army ensuring Earedhian independence from the Empire and enough provisions to last them all the way back to Earedh, Lorcan would take his army back to Earedh and cede Thaerdonian land seized by his army to Aerick personally. When Aerick attempted to refuse on grounds that he, as neither Emperor nor Ruler, did not have the authority to negotiate such deals Lorcan interjected that Emperors at this time was a dime a dozen and that to him, Aerick was as good as any other. Lorcan made this known to all in earshout by clever use of the magic of the Crones, which caused the Aiedonian army to stir. One by one, the soldiers started to slowly bang their swords to the side of their shields in approval. The situation escalated, despite several Riedhon and Braith Riedhon attempting to silence the soldiers, until they were forced to accept Lorcan's ploy. The first to pronounce his support for Aerick Ashenburne as Emperor was Braith Riedhon Raehellan Breathorn, and his voice was soon followed by many more. A somewhat flustered Aerick was in this way forced by Lorcan to not just accept Lorcan's proposed deal, which no other Emperor would ever accept, but also force him to accept the title as Emperor and therefore force him to focus on the Great Ashen War in person. Aerick the Keeper, ever a man of his word, ratified the Earedhians proposed on the spot and, once the Earedhians had withdrawn to their highlands, took his force of Thaerdonians, Aiedonians and Ciludonians and rode toward the Aiedonian heartland. Once he had claimed his title, Aerick would honor the terms that he and Lorcan came to and would fondly speak about the first and only man to trick him, and how he won peace without even swinging his sword. While the same cannot be said for how he ended the Great Ashen War, Aerick would never again parley in person, often denoting the dangers of such affairs. Category:Country Category:Earedh